Dancing Above The Stars
by halfbloodedprincess1
Summary: Future Fic BrookeandLucas Brooke Davis Scott spent so much time just waiting for the day to come when it would all fall apart. But that day didn't come for so long, that when it did, it caught her horribly, horribly offguard.


A/N I wrote this one-shot with many tears. I hope that the bond this family has comes through in this story, that's the reason I wrote this. I hope its enjoyed, and send me a review of your opinion since I've never written anything like this before. Much love, princess.

Sometimes life surprises you more by going well than by disappointing you. It took Brooke Davis a long time to figure this out. She'd gotten so used to the everyday problems and drama that when everything began working out she almost couldn't believe it. And when everything stayed so amazingly dream-esque she was almost afraid. Anxious, just waiting for the day to come when it would all fall apart. But that day didn't come for so long, that when it did, it caught her horribly, horribly off-guard.

It was a beautiful day outside, the waves crashing onto the sandy beach, the sun high in the sky. Three beautiful children played along the coastline. The oldest of them was nearing eight. She was a magnificent girl, long dirty blond hair that spilled down her back in loose curls, tanned skin, a few freckles across her nose, and stunningly bright green eyes. She had her mothers wild streak and stubborn spirit and her fathers love of books. She held the hand of the youngest Scott, her sister, who was wearing a water-safe diaper and nothing else, dark brunette hair curling around her ears, eyes the same color as the ocean sparkling with laughter at everything her older sister said. In her two year old mind her sister was a goddess. Their brother weaved in and out of them, crazy like every five year old boy, picking seashells up and inspecting them in the sunlight. His sandy brown hair needed a cut and was currently windtossed and disheveled, which was always the way it looked lately. The three of them never walked too far out of sight of their parents, never strayed too far from the beach house that they had just moved to. Brooke Davis sat in a lounge chair, the bikini she wore looking just as good on her as it had when she'd graduated just ten years before. Lucas Scott flipped a burger on the grill, wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses and board shorts that matched his sons. They were living the american dream. They had it all. A wonderful marriage, healthy, gorgeous, and well-behaved kids, and they had great friends. Brooke couldn't quite explain the way it made her feel to see her kids playing together, the way her heart seemed to grow in its place. She couldn't describe how it felt when she caught her husband staring at her, the same passion in his eyes he had ten years before still there. She knew that they were the envy of people wherever they went. And yet she took it all for granted. Maybe that was her biggest mistake.

Lucas felt Brooke's arms come around him, her chin fitting into the groove of his shoulder blade. He turned, wrapping his arms around her while she pressed a kiss to his chin. Instead of being his partner Brooke was more like an extension of himself now. He was completely aware of where she was without looking, sometimes it was as if he knew what she was thinking. His eyes scanned the horizon, searching out the three familiar heads. He laughed when he saw his son being tackled by their two year old. Brooke folowed his gaze and grinned, untangling herself from him and they ran hand in hand over to make a pile of Scotts. When Connor claimed defeat, his tiny five year old pride a bit wounded, Brooke kissed his cheek and promised ice cream after dinner. Lucas picked up the baby, Ella, and walked back to the grill, where their burgers were becoming slightly overcooked. Brooke walked up the beach with Connor and Lola, spinning Lola's golden hair up into a messy bun on her head. They all ate on a blanket and when it finally became dark Brooke took Ella inside for bed while Lucas lay on his back and pointed out constellations with Connor and Lola. Lola lay with her head on her fathers chest, and Connor lay next to her, his tiny fingers closed around hers, sleep dragging his eyelids downward.

"Daddy if the stars are up in the sky, then where is heaven?" Lola rolled over so her chin was on Lucas's chest, her face mere inches from his. At this angle he could count every freckle on her nose, see the tiny flecks of gold in her green eyes. She was so like Brooke, so stubborn and talkative, so beautiful. She was their first and that in itself made her special, not more loved at all, but she and Lucas had a special bond. She was his big girl, his mini-Brooke. One of his arms went around her waist and he closed his eyes, just thinking for a moment.

"I guess you could say that heaven is up past the stars. Why do you ask?" He watched her think for a moment and then she tossed her wavy hair over her shoulder and sighed.

"I don't know, I guess I was just thinking that if something happened to me I would go to heaven, and I wanted to know where it was." She lay her head back to rest on his chest and he rubbed her back in small circles. He wanted to say something reassuring, but she didn't seem at all upset by talking about her own death. Lola was just that way. She was all drama, never afraid of anything.

"Do you think they dance their in heaven?" She looked at him, all intensity, and he nodded, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. She was their little ballerina, playing in her tutu all the time, dancing from room to room, making sure every relative was at her recitals.

"They dance all the time Lola-girl." He watched her smile at that, but just as quickly the smile was gone.

'Daddy if I did go to heaven and left you and Mommy and Connor and Ella, what would you do?" She sat up this time, moving to sit indian style on top of him, her eyes digging holes in his. Lucas ran a hand through his hair.

"I think...I think that we would all be very sad and miss you very, very much Lola. You're not planning on packing up and leaving for heaven anytime soon are you?" He tickled her stomach and she laughed, squirming away.

"No Daddy, I never want to leave you and Mommy. I like it here." She smiled then and he sat up, pulling her tight against his chest and breathing in her strawberry scented shampoo. A fierce wave of protectiveness swept over him.

"Let's not talk about heaven anymore Lola-girl, okay?" She nodded against him, her own eyes closing now. Lucas swayed back and forth for a few minutes until he was sure she was asleep and then he scooped Connor up into his other arm, walking them both into their beach house and placing them in their beds. He placed kisses on both their cheeks and left both their bedroom doors open a crack in case one had a nightmare.

Brooke was buried into the neswest copy of _Vogue_ when he walked in. He laughed and rolled onto the bed, plucking the magazine from her arms and throwing it onto the nightstand, kissing her firmly on the mouth even through her protesting.

"Lucas I was reading that." She stuck her lower lip out, pouting, and he smirked, pushing some of her long brown hair out of her face and trailing kisses along her jaw.

"I know. I also know that you are the fashion editor of it. So when you actually put the magazine together and have it memorized from cover to cover, why must you read it?" He propped himself up on his elbows to look down at her and grinned.

"I like to look at the finished product Luke. Besides, when you're reading your own teams box scores I don't rip the sports section from your hands." She smiled as his lips found the pulse point on her neck that made her heart race.

"You're just being argumentative." He let his fingers roam up under her shirt and she sighed playfully, dragging her nails lightly over his scalp.

"And you're just being horny. What exactly is your point?" She leaned up to let him take off her shirt and then bit down on his neck gently, hearing the hiss of breath that he exhaled. After that neither of them spoke for a long time.

When their bedroom door opened at 3:07 A.M., Brooke didn't need to look at the door to see who it was. She could tell from the tiny noise the feet made against the hardwood floor. She sighed and reached out in the dark, her hands wrapping around her daughters waist and hauled her onto the bed.

"Ella-bean, what is it?" She pulled Lucas's wife beater on and a pair of boy shorts after she sat Ella in the middle of the bed, tiny sniffles coming from the girl.

"I'm scared Mommy." Ella's blue eyes were huge in the dark and Brooke could see the tears glistening in them.

"Did you have a nightmare?" She watched as Ella nodded pitifully. Lucas was now awake and he rubbed his eyes, scratched just behind his ear and double checked to make sure he had on his boxers. Brooke smirked at him and scooped up Ella, laying down and holding her tightly.

"It's okay sweetheart, Momma's got you now." Brooke kissed Ella's dark curls and smiled when Lucas's arms came around them both, holding both of them. He had them all.

Brooke loved it when she and Lucas had vacation time together. They had a late breakfast the next morning and spent the whole day being lazy. Lola and Connor pulled out old family videos of themselves when they were younger, pointing out familiar faces on the screen.

"Momma, is that Aunt Haley?" Lola pointed at the screen and Brooke looked up from feeding Ella a banana and grinned. They had put in the tape from graduation. The one where Brooke and Rachel were tipsy and Lucas and Peyton were all wrapped up in each other. Haley was also about nine months pregnant on that day. She actually delivered later that night. She was all swollen with the pregnancy and her cheeks were chubbed out like chipmunks.

"Yeah that's her. She had your cousin James later that day." Brooke watched Lola nod and then both Lola and Connor grimaced and Brooke looked at the screen to see Lucas and Peyton making out. She laughed.

"Momma, why is Daddy kissing Aunt Peyton?" Connor's nose was scrunched up with confusion and Brooke kissed his forehead, ruffling his little boy curls.

"Lets just call it a momentary lapse of sanity on both their parts. High school was not a fun time for Mommy." She watched as both kids nodded and then shook her head. High school hadn't really been a fun time for any of them. She grinned at the thought and watched the rest of the video with them.

Lucas walked in the front door, sweat dripping down his back and dipping into his shorts. He grimaced. Sometimes he disgusted himself. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and pulled off his t-shirt, pulling on a clean wifebeater and jeans. Playing center for the Charlotte Bobcats was his dream job. He loved it. But he would love it even more when he retired in a year. He smiled at the thought and walked into the living room, grinning at the sight in front of him and shaking his head. Brooke, Lola, and Connor were passed out on the couch, Lola's foot practically on Connors head. And Ella was prancing around the room, holding a now empty box of cheerios and walking all over the ones she had spilt out. He scooped her up, sidestepping cheerios and laughed.

"Gabriella Paige, what is going on?" He feigned anger and tickled her ribs, pressing a kiss to her chubby cheek.

"Mommy is sleepin' Daddy." She pointed a finger at the couch and he rolled his eyes playfully.

"I see that Princess. Come on, what do you say we leave this mess for Mommy to clean up and go play at the beach?" He walked upstairs, getting them both changed and then left the sleepyheads passed out on the couch.

Nearly an hour later Lola and Connor joined himself and Ella out in the waves while Brooke cleaned. Lola was a strong swimmer for her age, but she still stayed close to him. Connor played in the sand, never letting anything more than his toes in the water. He wasn't a fish like Lola. Lucas kept a tight hold on Ella, jumping waves with her and Lola. Whenever Lola got tired she would jump onto his back for a few minutes and then go back to swimming. All the kids, even little Ella knew the rules about the water. Twenty minutes later Lucas called it in and they all went to play on thier new playground.

"Hey Dad, I want to go swim some more." Lola looked up at Lucas after a few minutes of playing on the swings. She loved the beach, everything about it. Lucas could only tolerate so much salt water before it made him feel gross. He sighed.

"Not right now Lola. We just finished." He saw her eyes sprak, her lower lip begin to show. Lola did not handle being told no exceptionally well. For so long it had amused him, because it was so like Brooke. But now it was starting to become a discipline problem.

"Daddy, I wanna go now!" Her little fists balled up and planted themselves at her hips and she stood, there looking every bit like her mother with the exception of the color of their hair. Connor and Ella both froze, ready to watch the fight. Lola's temper tantrums had lessened some, but when she blew up it wasn't pretty.

"Lola, this isn't up for discussion. You either keep playing with us or you go inside with Mommy and help her finish cleaning okay? I would really like it if you wanted to keep playing with us. How does that sound?" He watched her brow furrow and expected tears but then her jaw set in a way that looked surprisingly like her Uncle Nathan's and she turned and went inside.

"Too bad, cause I don't want to play with you guys anymore." She crossed her arms and he waited for her to get inside to shake his head and smile. He scooped up Connor and tousled his curls.

"Dude, I will never understand girls." He smirked and watched Connor shrug.

"Yeah. Me neither Dad." Both guys chuckled and Lucas went back to pushing Ella on the swing set.

It was at least thirty minutes later when Brooke came out of the back door, drying her hands on a towel. She watched them playing for a while before she frowned.

"Luke, where is Miss Drama?" She stepped down off the deck and Lucas gave her an odd look, slowing down Ella's swing and glancing over at Connor who was busy torturing an ant.

"I sent her inside to you like half an hour ago. She was trying to throw a tantrum." He glanced over at the house and Brooke turned towards it.

"Oh, well I never saw her. She must have gone to her room to brood. Wonder where she gets thats from?" She flashed him a smile and walked back to the house. Lucas almost immediately could feel that something was off. And when Brooke emerged from the house two minutes later, her face much paler than before, he became sure of it.

"Lucas she's not in the house. And...her swim suit. I had it over the edge of the tub drying. Its not there." Her voice shook and he stood up, his gaze going to the water immediately. The only thing he could see was angry waves crashing on the beach over and over.

Sometimes life surprises you more by going well than by disappointing you. It took Brooke Davis a long time to figure this out. She'd gotten so used to the everyday problems and drama that when everything began working out she almost couldn't believe it. And when everything stayed so amazingly dream-esque she was almost afraid. Anxious, just waiting for the day to come when it would all fall apart. But that day didn't come for so long, that when it did, it caught her horribly, horribly off-guard.

The cops were there within a matter of minutes. The divers came soon after. Other people came too, to help look for the lost little girl, they came armed with flashlights and prayers, reassurances that everything would be fine.

Her body washed up in the middle of the night, about a mile down the beach. It was her uncle who found her. Nathan Scott was the one who wrapped her tiny body in his arms and cried the first tears, sobbing for his niece. He shielded the body from Brooke's eyes. She was the first to spot him coming up the beach with the body, and when she saw that the child he was carrying was limp she dropped on her knees in the sand, a sound that no one could describe being ripped from her body. Nathan barely made it to the paramedics, who took Lola's lifeless body and placed her in a black bag. He broke down then. It was almost as if the entire beach became a mourning ground. The scene that took place when Lucas saw his wife being carried to the beach house by Nathan, her face buried in his shirt, one name coming from her lips over and over, was like something out of a horror film. So were all the days that followed for a long time.

It was Nathan who spoke the best at Lola's funeral. He summed up her too short life, the spirit she had that couldn't be tamed, the way she always spoke her mind, and that even at seven she had a better understanding of life then most adults. He almost made it to the end of the speech before the loss of his niece got the best of him and his wife had to finish it for him, Haley Scott somehow the strong rock in all of this.

The beach house was boarded up and they went back to their house in Charlotte. The media ate the story up. It was front page news the nest day in USA Today. "Basketball Superstar, Lucas Scott, and Wife Fashion Queen, Brooke Davis, daughter drowns in tragic accident.". Entertainment Tonight covered the funeral. Brooke and Lucas had no peace. Connor was cornered at the playground by one intrepid reporter, the flash off the camera nearly blinding the five year old. The reporter was lucky he only left with a broken jaw when Nathan was through with him. Both Connor and Ella were staying with Nathan, Haley, James, and Cooper.

The first night back at the house in Charlotte Brooke sat in Lola's room, surrounded by all her little girl stuff, and cried, sobbed for the child she had carried for nine months, had raised for nearly eight years. Lucas picked her up sometime during the night, all the tears he had gone by then and carried her to their fell asleep that nighbedroom. He laid her on their huge california king size bed and made love to her for an hour, their tears and sweat mingling. When they drifted off, limbs tangled together, both actually _slept _ for the first time in a week. When they woke the next morning, Nathan and Haley were there, with Connor and Ella, both anxious to climb into bed with their parents and cuddle. Brooke held Ella and Connor in her arms, Lucas wrapped around her, and they all slept for another hour, all except Lucas. He reveled in the feel of his wife and children, and how somehow, he knew they would manage to survive this.

Life slowly fell back into place. Connor started kindergarten and Ella got potty trained. Lucas started his last season on the Bobcats and Brooke went back to flying back and forth from Charlotte to the Vogue offices in the city. Lola's room remained untouched, it almost a sancuary to the girl. Some nights when Lucas woke up in the middle of the night he would find Brooke in her bed, curled up and crying, and he would lay with her and cry too.

Three months after the day that changed everything Brooke found out she was pregnant. A while after that she discovered it was twins. She wold laugh sometimes, joke that it was the way of God evening the score, but they all knew no one could ever replace the little girl who had been stolen from them. Lucas held it together better than any of them and sometimes Brooke couldn't help but wonder why. Her question was answered one night when she was standing on the balcony off their bedroom. She'd joined Lucas about twenty minutes before. He sat out there most nights for at least a few minutes. She put her arms around him and rested her chin against his shoulder, her swollen stomach pressing against his back. One of the babies was kicking against him, a promise of life. She sighed and ran her hands over his arms.

"What are you thinking about Broody?" She smiled when he turned and held her close. She had a fairly good idea what he was doing when he came out here.

"I was thinking about Lola-girl. Did I ever tell you that the night before...the night before she drowned, she asked me where heaven was?" He watched her face to see if she would cry but she just shook her head, green eyes curious.

"I told her that it was up past the stars. And then I asked if she was planning on visiting there anytime soon. And she said that...she said she never wanted to leave us Brooke." His voice broke and this time Brooke stayed strong, holding him as he cried.

"Brooke I should have just let her swim, she was just so stubborn and I just didn't want to go out again. She didn't want to leave us. You know how scared she must have been. Out there, all alone, I wonder if she screamed for me. I wonder if she screamed and I didn't come. I didn't save her Brooke. I didn't protect her like I was supposed to. She trusted me to save her and I didn't. I wasn't there when she needed me to be." He sobbed as she held him, her own tears mingling with his. They stood there for more than an hour until Lucas finally wiped his face on the back of his sleeve.

"She knew you loved her Lucas. She loved us too. She still does Luke. She doesn't think you abandoned her." He nodded and she sighed, kissing him softly before she left to go inside. He sat back down and sighed looking up, wondering if she was enjoying there, enjoying her life dancing past the stars.

I hope you enjoyed this fic. Reviews are like crack to me!


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